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EDUCATION IN ENGINEERING 




Engineering Hall, Iowa State College 



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AMES, IOWA 



Monograph 



Study Engineering 

LExtract from an Address on Military Engineering, by 
General Wm. M. Black, Chief of Engineers, U. 8. Army 

''I think that that need exists thru all our educa- 
tional institutions, that the trained technical man 
should be provided for the future. We all know that 
men who are eminent in their professions who never 
had the advantage of that early training, will them- 
selves be the first to tell you that they have felt the 
disadvantage. Our country is going to live long 
after this war. We hope and believe that our form 
of government is the permanent one of the world. 
* * * I do not recall a single government which 
in its present shape is as old as ours, and yet ours 
is called an experiment. But we believe, and believe 
truly that this experiment is a successful one. If 
that be so, it m^ust be carried on with the same qual- 
ity of men, the same quality of brains, as we have 
had in the past. This catacylsm of war must not be 
allowed to disorganize our structure for all time, 
and one of the things we will need after the war, 
just as we needed it before the war, just as we are 
needing it today, will be trained young men to take 
the place of the older who go out. ' ' 



SEP X«I9|9 



OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF 

IOWA STATE COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE 

AND MECHANIC ARTS 



Vol. XVIU JANUARY 29, 1919 No. 35 



EDUCATION IN ENGINEERING 



"There is now the most vital need for technically 
trained engineers that has ever existed. The im- 
pending world-wide shortage of engineers is the 
most serious that has ever occurred. Now, if ever, 
I would say, is the opportune time for young men 
to get a technical engineering training." — Lieuten- 
ant-Colonel A. Marston, Dean of Engineering, Iowa 
State-- College. 



AMES, IOWA 



Published weekly. Entered as cecond-class matter, 
and accepted for mailing at special rate of postage 
provided for in section 1103, Act of Oct. 3, 1917, 
authorized Sept. 23, 1918. 



V 




Education in Engineering 




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ITHOUT question, engineering and indus- 
trial expansion must go hand in hand. En- 
gineering is also indispensable to normal 
national growth. It is not surprising, 
therefore, to find that engineers are play- 
ing a large part in the present period of 
unprecedented industrial development. It 
seems likely that the nation will enjoy a 
healthy growth for many years to come 
and that during this period the engineer 
will do an important work in constructing 
the facilities necessary for national life. 
For many years there has been a steady growth in the engineer- 
ing schools, and their graduates have readily found places in 
the industrial world. Undoubtedly there will continue to be 
opportunities in the engineering field for ambitious young men 
who have a taste for the exact sciences that are the basis of 
engineering education, who possess imagination and initiative, 
and who are willing to subject themselves to the rigorous train- 
ing necessary before they can gain a foothold in the engi- 
neering profession. As in many other professions there is 
always room at the top, altho there is at times an oversupply of 
mediocre engineers who are temperamentally unfitted for the 
engineering profession or who have been unwilling to apply 
themselves unremittingly to their work. 

It is not surprising that there should be a demand for en- 
gineers when one considers that the practice of engineering is 
so closely related to economic progress. Engineering is an an- 
cient profession, but its modern development began with the 
invention of gunpowder and the great mechanical inventions, 
the compass and the printing press. The achievements of en- 
gineering include the great network of steam and electric rail- 
ways, the modern transoceanic steamship, electric light and 
power, the telephone, the telegraph, water supply and the 
sewerage systems, highway systems, irrigation systems, drain- 
age systems for the reclamation of w^aste land, and the labor 



saving machinery which makes possible vast manufacturing 
and industrial enterprises. 

THE ENGINEERING FIELD CONSTANTLY EXPANDS 

The field of engineering is constantly expanding as mod- 
ern civilization becomes more complete. Community life has 
become predominant and communities demand conveniences 
made possible by the work of engineers. The people are de- 
pendent upon the engineer for the safety of their lives and for 
those facilities we have come to call modern conveniences. He 
plans and builds the public water supply systems ; he cont rols 
the proper disposal of sewage to prevent the spread of dis- 
ease ; he directs the operation of the telephone, electric and gas, 
light and power ; he operates the many efficient public utilities 
such as urban, interurban and transcontinental railway systems, 
the telegraph, the mail service, and thereby has eliminated 
time and distance in the commercial and social intercourse of 
people, and has made available to all the people the conveni- 
ences of modern civilization. 

By adapting for use in rural communities the utilities which 
were first provided for cities, the engineer has made it possible 
for the farmer to enjoy practically all of the conveniences that 
are the ordinary accomplishment of city life. Moreover, by the 
invention of labor-saving machinery the engineer has revolu- 
tionized the practice of farming and has thereby removed much 
of the drudgery which was once common to the pursuit of 
agriculture. 

Not only has the engineer been indispensable in the establish- 
ment of modern comm-unity life, but his services have been re- 
quired in the growth of private industrial enterprises. Manu- 
facturing interests, mining interests, farmers and the private 
citizen all require the engineer's services from time to time in 
the conduct of their affairs. 

As the enterprises with which the engineer is identified have 
become more complex, the requirements for the engineer have 
become more exacting. There was a time when a young man 
who wanted to become an engineer had to travel the road of 
apprenticeship and experience. That time is past. The ex- 
acting character of work of the engineer today demands that 
he receive that training in certain fundamental sciences and 




Group of engineering buildings on campus 

in the established engineering practice which can only come 
thru the college class room, shop and laboratory. 

THE ENGINEER MUST BE AN EDUCATED MAN 

George S. Morison, one of the most noted engineers of his 
day, even back in 1895 declared in an address given before one 
of the national engineering societies that the engineer of to- 
day must be an educated man. His keen appreciation of the 
demands of the future prompted him to predict that : 

''The engineer of the new epoch, the epoch which he is 
bringing into existence by the manufacture of power, must be 
an educated man. In no profession will this be more necessary. 
The engineer cannot shield himself under doctrines or theories 
which he accepts but cannot understand. Dealing with ac- 
curate, definite laws, the education of the engineer will be- 
come more necessary, more thoro and more exact than that of 
any other professional m-an. ' ' 

For many years Iowa State College has been one of the 
recognized leaders in engineering education and it seeks to 
maintain this high rank among engineering colleges of the 
country. At the present time its curricula includes instruction 
in agricultural engineering, architectural engineering, ceramic 
engineering, chemical engineering, civil engineering, electrical 



engineering, mechanical engineering, mining engineering, and 
rural structure design. 

THE ENGINEERING COURSES AT AMES 

The engineering courses at Iowa State College are arranged 
with a view to that thoro technical training necessary for high 
grade professional engineering work. The purely technical 
subjects are given the necessary emphasis, but the instruction 
includes a sufficient amount of general work to secure that well 
balanced development which is necessary for the highest pro- 
fessional success. It is the aim not only to prepare a student 
to earn his bread and butter upon graduation, but to give him 
the foundation for a broad professional career and to make of 
him a well educated man and a good citizen. 

The pure sciences, such as economic science, chemistry, 
physics and mathematics, are the foundation for engineering 
training, not only during the collegiate course but thruout a pro- 
fessional career. These sciences are given considerable emphasis 
in engineering courses because of the realization that without 
them the more advanced technical work cannot be successfully 
undertaken. In addition to these there are numerous technical 
subjects which contribute directly toward the special training 
of the engineer, and these subjects continue thruout the college 
course. No one should expect to be able during four years, 
which is so brief a part of a man's life, to master any one branch 
of engineering. The best he can hope to do is to secure a suffi- 
cient knowledge of the fundamental sciences and of the practice 
of engineering to enable him to get a start in engineering work. 
He must then continue his study of engineering along with his 
practice of the profession if he expects to really become an engi- 
neer in the broadest sense of the term. 

THE EQUIPMENT AT AMES IS LARGE 

To teach properly the fundamental sciences and the other 
technical courses that are usually included in an engineering 
training, the classroom work must be supplemented by labora- 
tory and shop instruction and by engineering work in the field, 
and the standing of an engineering school will of necessity 
depend to a considerable extent upon its physical equipment. 
Iowa State College is extremely fortunate in that the State has 



provided numerous buildings, shops and laboratories, and haa 
equipped them in a suitable manner. It is the aim of those 
responsible for the administration of the Institution to main- 
tain an engineering school second to none in the country. The 
State continues from year to year to provide liberal appropria- 
tions for enlargement, not only in buildings and equipment but 
in the teaching staff. There has recently been added to the 
equipment a splendid steam and gas laboratory. The trans 
portation plant and laboratories recently built and equipped to 
afford instruction in railway and automobile engineering are 
the only ones of their kind west of the Mississippi. 

In addition to the provisions for engineering education Iowa 
State College provides for four other major lines of education. 
In all it owns nearly 1,400 acres of land of which 125 acres are 
in the campus proper, the remaining comprising the College and 
experiment station farms. Some 40 buildings now stand on the 
campus, and the total investment of the State at the College is 
approximately $4,000,000. 

It has already been noted that engineering studies must be 
supplem^ented by engineering practice. Because this is true, 
the College not only encourages students to secure engineering 
employment during their summer vacation, but some depart- 
ments require such work before the completion of the course. 
Active touch with real engineering problems during the college 
course broadens the young man, gives him valuable experience 
thru contact with real engineering organizations, and fills him 
with enthusiasm- for the profession which he is to follow. 

Besides the regular studies of the courses, general technical 
lectures are given thruout the freshman year, and seminars dur- 
ing the remaining three years. There are meetings of the 
student engineering societies, lectures by prominent practicing 
engineers, active work on the students' monthly engineering 
journal, and other outside interests which are educational in 
themselves. 

Small indeed would be the value of physical equipment were 
it not for the body of highly trained specialists who form the 
engineering faculty at Iowa State College. All of the instructors 
are experts in their line and bring to the student not only a 
theoretical knowledge of the subjects they are teaching, but 



10 

also the result of their practical experience in the outside world. 
Many of them are engineers of state and even national reputa- 
tion, respected in professional circles for their breadth and high 
technical ability. 

Best of all, the engineering faculty at Iowa State College is a 
teaching faculty. It means m-uch to a young man to have fre- 
quent contact with men who are bigger and broader than the 
actual classroom work they are giving. These are the men who, 
thruout the four years of college life, help mould the lives of 
students in preparation for their work of service. 

Living conditions at Iowa State College are unusually good. 
The college is remote from the town of Ames and is, therefore, 
remote from most of the distractions of city life. The student 
life centers about the campus, which is unusually attractive. 
The young man who comes to the college com-es to conditions 
that are wholesome and conducive to the best work that he ca*i 
do. He finds plenty of those diversions and entertainments 
that are worth while. The best of entertainments are brought 
to the campus and many special lectures and addresses are pre- 
sented by men and women of national and international reputa- 
tion. 

STUDENT ACTIVITIES WELL SUPERVISED 

Student activities include all branches of athletics, under the 
careful supervision of skilled coaches. The college possesses 
one of the largest college gymnasiums in the country and a great 
athletic field with outdoor equipment. Each year great artists 
of the musical world are brought to the college for recitals 
which are provided at popular prices. The students themselves 
provide an abundance of entertainm-ent thru glee clubs, orches- 
tras, debating and amateur dramatics ; the various student pub- 
lications and numerous other activities give every chance for 
those outside interests that do so much for the development of 
ability and confidence. In all, the work and environment at 
Iowa State College makes for the development of strong men, 
as is evidenced by the very notable part its engineering gradu- 
ates are playing in the world's progress. They may be found 
doing important engineering tasks in every part of the world 
and in every line of activity. 



Agricultural Engineering 




Ijgfe;:^/.. .: '^ . ~^;niTH the development of agriculture the 

farm-er finds many engineering prob- 
lems to solve. The use of tractors, 
field machinery, and labor saving 
conveniences such as water supply, 
sewage disposal and modern heat- 
ing and lighting systems on farms is 
extensive and is rapidly increasing. 
Improvements are being introduced 
in the design and construction of 
farm buildings and equipment. Re- 

clamation or improvement of land by 

^■■■■^■■^^^■■B drainage and irrigation requires engi- 
neering skill, also a knowledge of soils and crops. 

It is the purpose of the agricultural engineering course to give 
students a thoro training in fundamental engineering subjects 
and at the same time to include agricultural subjects which will 
give them a working knowledge of modern agriculture, which 
will familiarize them with the problems to be solved and will 
keep them in sympathy with the farm. 

Agricultural engineering was organized as a separate depart- 
ment at Iowa State College in 1907. The first degree was grant- 
ed in 1910. Including the 1918 class, 97 men have been graduat- 
ed in this course. 

Some of the special courses of study taught in the depart- 
ment are asfoUows: 

The power farming courses include study of the construction, 
operating, adjusting, testing, and repairing gas and steam trac- 
tors, gas engines and farm machinery. 

Courses on farm buildings and equipment familiarize the 
student with designs, methods of construction, and building 
materials which have come into common use. His training in 
engineering and agriculture enable the student to work out 
designs for the successful use of the new building materials, 
and to make plans for more convenient and economical farm 



12 




Getting practical work in the farm machinery laboratory. 

buildings. Labor saving and sanitary equipment for buildings 
receives the attention it deserves. 

Special courses in drainage and irrigation are given for agri- 
cultural engineers. 





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A student class in automobile testing. 



13 

About one half of the graduates in this course have entered 
commercial work: Sales, advertising, and development with 
manufacturers of various lines of farm equipment and farm 
building materials ; design and construction of farm buildings ; 
drainage engineering and contracting; editorial work on farm 
and trade papers ; and farming. The other half of our graduates 
have entered college, experiment station, and government work 
in agricultural engineering. 

Architectural Engineering 

|PLENDID opportunities are opening up to 
the graduate in architectural engineering 
these days. Iowa, especially is passing 
thru an era of better buildings. In the 
rural field, for instance, the great strides 
toward better buildings can be no better 
illustrated than thru the statement of the 
fact that Iowa State College in the past 
two years has received thousands of re- 
quests for assistance in the building lines. 
It is predicted that Iowa will, within the 
next decade take great steps toward be- 
coming a manufacturing state. This means a demand for more 
and better factory buildings. The same conditions hold true 
over the entire country. People are demanding more liveable 
dwellings, more modern structures of every kind. Such a de- 
mand, of course, produces an autom-atic demand for men trained 
to plan such structures. 

Students in the architectural engineering course at Iowa State 
College are given a thoro training in the fundamentals of engi- 
neering problems found in connection with architectural work 
and a knowledge of the design and construction of all classes 
of structures not only from the standpoint of utility but also of 
appearance and economy. Only so much architectural design 
is taught as is required to enable the correct development of the 
engineering work and not enough to qualify for the practice of 
architecture. 




14 




A class in architectviral design. 




Knowledge of art principles are part of the architectural engineer's equipment. 



15 



The course prepares its graduates to become skilled drafts- 
men in any line of building and construction work, to qualify 
for positions of building inspector or superintendent or to 
become general contractors and consulting architectural engi- 
neers. The field is a broad one and the opportunities are real 
for young men who take the course. 

Such subjects as masonry, and steel and reinforced concrete 
construction are carefully studied so as to allow the student to 
become familiar with the latest methods and best practices of 
computation. Practice work in testing materials in cement and 
masonry laboratories is fully developed to enable the student to 
become familiar with the structural properties of building 
materials. 

The technical work is supplemented by cultural subjects to 
give the student a broad and developed point of view. 



Ceramic Engineering 




HE purpose of the course in ceramic en- 

"Tl r LJI^H gineering is to prepare men for service 

in the silicate industries. These include 

the manufacture of clay products, cement, 

glass, enam-eled metals and various minor 

lines of manufacture. In the United 

States these industries are conducted in 

more than 5700 plants, employ 300,000 

men, represent an investment of $700,000,- 

000 and produce each year products valued 

at $400,000,000. 

Iowa State College is one of the five colleges in the country 

w^hich maintain a department of ceramic engineering. It is 

the only one of such institutions west of the Mississippi. 

The course in ceramic engineering as given at Iowa State 
college is a real engineering course founded on fundamental 
sciences of chemistry, physics and mathematics. The student 
thoroly masters these his first two years and during the last 
two years studies in part, fundam-ental engineering subjects 
and in part, special subjects that make up what is known as 
ceramic technology. 

When he graduates, the ceramic engineer is fitted to handle 



16 




The ceramic engineering laboratories have complete and modern equipment. 



the chemical and mechanical engineering problems that he is 
likely to meet with as superintendent or manager of a ceramic 
plant. In addition, he has a thoro knowledge of the ceramic 
art as practiced in the past and present in various countries. 

The laboratories are provided with complete and modern 
equipment for instructional work, in addition to several pieces 
of apparatus not usually found in ceramic engineering schools. 

Ceramic engineering is one of the youngest branches of 
the engineering profession. Being a new and extensive field 
it is not overcrowded. The graduates of the department read- 
ily find places and rise rapidly to positions of responsibility and 
good pay. A ceramic engineering graduate usually starts as 
assistant to the superintendent of a clay working, glass making, 
cement making, or enameled metal plant. Showing reasonable 
ability and diligence he may expect to progress to the position 
of superintendent of a plant and from that to general manager. 
If successful he may expect in time to enlist capital and start 
his own plant. Men who are interested in research work 
readily find employment in the experimental laboratories of 
large concerns and of the national and state governments. 



Chemical Engineering 




ITH the tremendous strides that this country 
is making in the manufacture of coal tar 
products such as dyes, explosives, medicin- 
als and photographic chemicals and the 
production of fertilizers by electrochemical 
methods and from potash supplies as well 
as other chemical products, an ever enlarg- 
ing field is open to chemical engineers. 

The present situation in Europe places 
upon the United States an obligation for 
the manufacture of m-any chemicals and chemical products 
which have heretofore been imported, principally from Ger- 
many. Already a great deal of work has been done to supply 
these materials but many years must elapse before the processes 
can be fully developed. Such work calls for chemical engineers 
of the highest type, men who not only know chemistry but who 
can conceive and construct apparatus required for the manufac- 
turing operations sought. The older fields of metallurgy, gas 
manufacture and food products also demand their annual quota 
of chemical engineers. 



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Chemical Laboratory 



18 




Practical laboratory work figures largely in the chemical engineer's training 

The course in chemical engineering at Iowa State College is 
intended not only to teach the necessary chemistry and engineer- 
ing that a chemical engineer should know, but to correlate these 
studies by class and laboratory work. 




Students are fitted to superintend field work. 



19 

Excellent laboratory facilities have been provided for carry- 
ing out the work on a large scale. All pieces of apparatus are 
of the same types as used commercially except that the capaci- 
ties are smaller. 

Chemical engineering is still in its infancy. Its field is great 
and with its promising future it should attract the student who 
is interested in the applied science. 



Civil Engineering 

"IVIL engineering is so broad in scope as to 
enter to a greater or less extent into prac- 
tically every field of human endeavor. Tho 
bridge engineering, railroad engineering, 
highway engineering, city engineering, 
sanitary and hydraulic engineering, irriga- 
tion and drainage engineering are given 
as the principal branches of the profession. 
It includes these lines and many others. It 
has been said, indeed that it includes every 
branch of engineering not included by the 
other main engineering branches. It deals with the construction 
of all types of steel and concrete structures, surveying and con- 
struction of roads, tunnels, and railways; harbors and river 
construction; municipal works and many other kinds of con- 
struction. 





Bridsre at Waterloo, Iowa, designed by an Iowa State college alumnus. 



20 




Students making a test of concrete. 

The course at Iowa State College gives the student a thoro 
training in the fundam-entals and also equips him with a work- 
ing knowledge of these subjects that are the everyday tools of 
the civil engineer. These are drawing, surveying, testing of 
materials of construction, principles of design of structures 
and other lines. 



Electrical 



Engineering 



any young man interested in that sort of 
AYork electrical engineering opens a wide 
field. After the completion of the course 
at Iowa State College and a reasonable 
time in practical work, graduates are quali- 
fied for the position of chief operators of 
power plants ; superintendents of construc- 
tion; managers of railways, lighting or 
telephone properties; designers; sales en- 
gineers ; consulting engineers and in many 
other professional positions requiring 
training and responsibility. Manufactur- 
ing companies take on many hundreds of electrical engineering 
graduates every year. 




21 



During the first two years of the course, the studies consist 
of the fundamental sciences, mathematics, physics and the like- 
In the third year are given courses in economics and engineering 
English and a course in mathematics especially designed for the 
electrical engineer; in the fourth year the more highly 
specialized studies and the application of electricity to power 
and lighting, including transmission lines and electric railways. 
Courses are also given in telephone engineering, wireless tele- 
graphy and the use of electricity on the farm. 

Electrical equipment at Iowa State College is complete in 
every detail. For experimental purposes there are 28 gener- 
ators and motors, several transformers, more than 200 precise 
instruments, besides mounted lamp banks, rheostats, choke coils 
and all other electrical apparatus to constitute a complete 
laboratory. An unusually complete telephone equipment forms 
part of the outlay. Qne of the largest college wireless stations 
in the country, equipped with two antennae connected with 
sending apparatus of capacities of 1 and 2^ kilowatts, is operat- 
ed by the college. 




Electrical equipment is complete in every detail. 



Illuminating Engineering 



AETICULARLY during the last 10 years, 
lighting and illumination have greatly 
changed. The bare kerosene lamp with all 
its disadvantages and even the carbon 
lamp have gone out of use and improved 
illuminants have taken their places. A 
marked increase in the attention paid to 
lighting, both natural and artificial, is be- 
ing shown wherever light is needed. Scien- 
tific study is being applied to the lighting 
of homes, churches, factories, and stores. 

Experts are hired to plan municipal lighting systems which 

were formerly installed haphazard. 

At Iowa State College problem-s in lighting are now receiv- 
ing the consideration they have long deserved. To train men 
to become experts in lighting and to offer an opportunity for 





Part of the laboratory equipment in illuminatingr en^ineerins:. 



• • • 



23 



any student to take as much work along this line as will be 
useful in his particular field regular and special courses in 
illumination are offered under the physics department. No de- 
gree is granted in this line of engineering but a student may 
specialize in it if he desires. 

Particular attention is given to the needs of the individual 
student. For instance the electrical engineering students will 
need very special instruction in illumination to prepare them 
for their chosen profession, and are offered special courses 
in addition to much required work ; the student in architectural 
engineering faces the problem of lighting his structures; the 
mechanical engineer must know how properly to light his shop 
or factory to secure utmost efficiency from his employees ; the 
director of municipal engineering must be able to solve scien- 
tifically the problem of street lighting ; the student in indus- 
trial science is interested in the relation of proper lighting 
to the human eye ; the average man should know the principles 
of correct illumination that make for better health and living 
conditions in the office and in the home. 

Three rooms are given over as laboratories for the work. 
These are equipped with several photometer benches, to measure 
light, nonelectric systems, and a variety of fixtures. Both 
gas and electric connections are used. 

Mechanical Engineering 



UE to the great industrial and m-anufactur- 
ing development of the country, the field 
of the mechanical engineer is constantly 
being widened and extended. In addition 
to designing and building machines and 
mechanical appliances of all kinds, he is 
now being called to positions of great re- 
sponsibility with public utility, manufac- 
turing and construction interests. 
The growth of such interests depends much 
upon the use of labor saving and cost re- 
machinery and for handling the product efficiently, 
is to this field that the mechanical engineer is receiving 




dueing 
And it 



24 



an insistant call. His knowledge of natural laws and sciences 
combined with his training to do independent thinking give 
him a valuable foundation for an industrial career. 

Instruction in mechanical engineering at Ames has been 
planned to keep pace with the development of the profession. 
It is a broad training course in the fundamentals supplem^ented 
by applications in mechanical engineering. 

The work in the shops and drawing rooms is arranged to give 
to the student instruction in materials of construction, the de- 
sign, operation and management of the more common machine 
tools, and to impress upon him the necessity of care and accu- 
racy in design and construction. 

The steam and gas laboratory is completely equipped with 
a great variety of apparatus peculiarly adapted to investiga- 
tion and research. The laboratory work is most practical. 

The recitation and lecture courses are not given primarily 
for the purpose of supplying the student with a fund of facts 




Students at work in the college machine shop. 



25 




Every variety of apparatus is furnished in the new gas and steam laboratory. 



and statistics but to develop logical thinking. The work of 
the senior year allows elective automobile engineering study. 

Fundamental courses in business engineering are required, 
to develop the industrial and commercial side of the engineer's 
training. 

For several years the demand for mechanical engineering 
graduates has greatly exceeded the supply. A majority of the 
men in each year's senior class are placed before graduation. 
The rate of promotion and advancement then depends almost 
entirely upon the man himself. 

In addition to the fundamental courses in economics and ac- 
counting required of all mechanical engineers, the student is 
permitted to elect a group during his senior year which has for 
its purpose the training of the business engineer, competent to 
serve as organizer, sales manager and manager of industrial 
concerns. The Federal Government thru the Bureau of Educa- 
tion and its technical departments, is lending its influence to 
promote the movement. 



Mining Elngineering 

T m-ay fairly be claimed that a well bal- 
anced course in mining engineering gives 
one of the broadest engineering educations 
possible. The well grounded mining en- 
gineer is fitted to specialize in many direc- 
tions. 

Not only are mining engineers con- 
cerned with the sinking of shafts and the 
transporting of ore to the surface, but also 
with the processes for separation of ore, 
smelting, milling, drainage and ventilation of mines; disposal 
and utilization of mine refuse; the production of metals and 
their preparation for particular uses. 

The mining engineer may direct his attention to geology and 
become a mining geologist. He m.ay go into the metallurgical 
field. He may become a metallographer, a man who deals with 



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An interior coal mine scene in Iowa. 



27 

metals and their structure. This is called the *'age of steel''; 
indeed the metallographer has made it the age of alloys. 
The present price of metals is usually high. Trained metal- 
lurgists are in greater demand than before the war. 

Hand in hand with high metal prices will come big improve- 
ments in metallurgical methods. The trained metallurgist is 
fast coming into his own. For instance, thru the discovery of 
one new process by a metallurgist one large concern has modi- 
fied its plant to make 50,000,000 pounds more of copper an- 
nually with the same tonnage and at a decreased cost. 

The opportunities for the technically trained mining engineer 
in solving problems of the sm-all mines are big. Heretofore 
these mines have had little technical skill at their disposal. 
Now, with a favorable disposition of capital toward mining a 
young mining engineer of business ability can find ample re- 
ward in acquiring control and managing these heretofore neg- 
lected properties. Another broad field is that of manufactur- 
ing mineral chemicals. 




Field trips afford students a study of mine operations. 



Rural Structure Designing 



URAL structure design is a two-year col- 
legiate course at Iowa State college. It 
aims to teach the student the principles 
of the design and construction of different 
types of farm buildings and their best 
arrangement, grouping, sanitation and 
drainage. Such problems are treated from 
three standpoints, the practical planning, 
the economic use of materials, and the 
aesthetic treatment of design. 

The work in the first and second se- 
mesters gives the students fundamental in- 
struction in mathematics, English, chemistry and surveying. 
At the same time the student spends a great deal of his time 
on freehand drawing and elementary design. By this method 
he becomes familiar with the necessary means of expression 
and his eye becomes trained to proper and true proportions 
which are fundamental in design. 

In the third and fourth semesters the work covers subjects 
such as mechanics, mathematics, physics, agricultural engineer- 
ing, rural structures, specifications and estimating, landscape 
gardening, sanitation and freehand drawing. 




Transportation Engineering 

] RAVEL and exchange, due, in the main, 
to our complex civilization and stimulated 
by splendid equipment, has placed trans- 
portation among America's leading indus- 
tries. To recall that it was only eighty- 
five years ago that the first train was run 
and less than 25 years ago since the first 
automobile was manufactured, alm-ost star- 
tles one with the thought of the unlimited 
opportunities which this field offers. 
In order to keep in touch with this im- 
portant phase of engineering and to be of service to its advance- 




29 

ment, Iowa State college has installed some very modern trans- 
portation equipment. Altho no degree is offered in transporta- 
tion engineering, engineering students can specialize in this 
line of work if they desire. 

Among other features of this equipment is a locomotive 
testing plant, the fifth to be built in the United States. Suf- 
ficient apparatus has been installed to test a large Mikado 
type of locomotive. The Chicago and Northwestern Railway 
has provided an American type of locomotive that the college 
uses in this plant for experimental and instructional purposes. 
In making locomotive tests the data are all taken by the stu- 
dents, thus allowing them to become familiar with the operation 
of the plant. All the railroads of Iowa are invited to make 
full use of this plant, and some have already done so. 

In order to keep abreast of the times and rapid progress 
of automobile construction, the department maintains an auto- 
mobile testing plant which is also used for experim-ental and 
instructional purposes. By making use of this plant any man- 
ufacturer or owner of a car, can in a few minutes, test just 
what power his machine is developing. Students use the equip- 
ment in connection with their courses in automobile engineering. 




A modern locomotive affords laboratory work in transportation engineering. 



30 




31 

Another feature of the transportation equipment is the 
"Westinghouse air brake plant which includes the modern air 
brake appliances of freight and passenger trains. The plant 
is used by the students in their study of the air brake and its 
application to up-to-date methods of railroad transportation. 

Entrance Requirements 

Entrance to Iowa State College is based on the standard for the 
three state educational institutions. Applicants for admission to the 
freshman class should be at least 16 years of age, and they must pre- 
sent at least 15 units of high school work. An entrance unit is defined 
as 36 weeks of high school work in one subject of study with five 
class periods per week, each not less than 40 minutes long; each labor- 
atory period should be at least 85 minutes in length. Of the 15 
entrance units certain are required and the remainder may be elected. 

For admission to the division of engineering the required units 
are: English, 3; history-civics-economics, 1; mathematics, 3, with 
1^ in algebra and 1 in plane geometry and ^^ in solid geometry; 
additional units in English, history-civics-economics, mathematics and 
the natural sciences 4 units; electives, 4 units; total, 15 units. In 
English the total units offered may not exceed 4; in history-civics- 
economics, 4; foreign language, 4. In natural science, the student 
may offer not to exceed 4^^ units; his units may be distributed among 
the various scientific subjects as follows: 

Agriculture % to 2 units Physics, not less than 1 unit 

Astronomy % unit Physical geography 

Biology, elementary % to 1 unit or physiography ^ to 1 unit 

Chemistry, not less than 1 unit Physiology % unit 

Geology % unit Zoology i/^ to 1 unit 

As electives the applicant may offer not more than % unit in 
advanced or commercial arithmetic; i/^ to 1 unit in double entry book- 
keeping; % unit in commercial geography; i/^ unit in commercial law; 
y2 unit in industrial history; 1 unit in stenography and typewriting; 
% to 2 units in mechanical or freehand drawing; i/^ unit in psychology. 

A student who presents 14 accepted units may be conditionally ad- 
mitted to the freshman year but the entrance condition must be 
removed one calendar year after his admission. 



Courses in Trades and Industry 

The Engineering Extension Department offers two-year and special 
one term courses in Trades and Industry. 

The two-year courses are practical courses established for the benefit 
of those who want to make the most of their abiltiy with a limited 
education. It should be clearly understood that these courses are not 
intended for men who can complete one of the four-year courses in 
engineering nor are they intended to serve as a training for profes- 
sional engineers. Their main purpose is to make available for earnest 
enthusiastic young men of mature habits, a training which will help 
them to increase their earning capacity and prepare them for respons- 



32 



LIBRftRY OF CONGRESS 



030 009 460 



ible positions with the industries. Men who conscientionsly pursue 
these courses to completion will eventually fill positions such as 
head draftsmen, foremen in shops and factories, superintendents of 
power plants, inspectors and contractors. 

The following courses are offered: Two-year Electrical Course, 
two-year Mechanical Course, two-year Structural Course. 

Special twelve weeks courses are offered for draftsmen and for 
automobile and truck mechanics. These courses are open to anyone 
.seventeen years of age who has completed the eighth grade or its 
equivalent. They are not closed to accredited high school graduates 
as are the two-year courses. 

In the special course for draftsmen, courses in architectural, me- 
chanical, civil and structural draftsmen are arranged to meet the 
needs of those engaged in these lines of work. The courses are open 
to men and women. 

The twelve weeks course for automobile mechanics consists of 
practical instruction in the operation and repair of automobiles and 
trucks. In addition to such general instruction as will give a thoro 
working knowledge of the subjects mentioned above, special depart- 
ments such as engine, carbureter, ignition, starting and lighting, 
storage battery, etc., enable students to specialize in these branches 
according to their needs. Special attention is given to machine work 
and oxyacetelyne welding. All the instruction is of a commercial 
character and meets the need of the garage mechanic or anyone 
wishing to enter this line of work. The equipment was originalfy 
provided especially for war training work in these lines, and is of 
the highest grade. 




A class in concrete tile making. 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 

030 009 460 



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